


Puppies and Predators

by jbn42



Series: Dog Park [3]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Bee Ships It, Exes, F/M, Living spaces, Puppies, Rey Is Not Having It, dog park, takedown
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-27
Updated: 2019-10-27
Packaged: 2021-01-04 20:07:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,145
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21203330
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jbn42/pseuds/jbn42
Summary: Rey and Poe move forward, and Rey takes care of business.





	Puppies and Predators

**Author's Note:**

> Author’s Note: OK, I’m officially having too much fun with this, and yes, I also have chapters going on most of my other active WIPs. But I can’t help myself.
> 
> Totally jumping around, timeline-wise. For a series I didn’t plan to write, this is surprising me. This one happens for two reasons – puppy acquisition and another thing that will become apparent. Shorter this time.
> 
> Disclaimer per usual – I do not own Star Wars or any aspect of the SW universe; just a fan with an idea. No profit here, just fun for me.

“Poe, we live in a studio flat! You, me, and a not-small dog in 500 square feet.” Rey looks at her boyfriend of nine months with an expression that makes him think that she thinks he looks like he just grew a second head.

He shrugs. “Well, Sunshine, it would be the three of us in a nearly-2000 square foot townhouse if you hadn’t hated it so much and the buyers hadn’t loved it so much.”

She rolls her eyes. “You didn’t like it much either, Flyboy. I believe the words you used were ‘boring’ and ‘lacking character.’ Which makes me wonder why you ever bought it!”

He crosses his arms over his chest. This is the only thing they’ve had any friction at all over in the last nine months. So, he figures they’re doing pretty well. “Maz needed the apartment. I just bought something quickly. I figured I’d be able to use it as a rental property later. Like I told you three months ago.” He arches an eyebrow at her.

She holds up her hands, indicating some level of surrender, a gesture she picked up from him. “Fine, I do know. I am still just so surprised. Your dad’s house in Breckenridge is adorable and a perfect Colorado mountain cabin, this place is quirky and homey, and you lived in a box!”

“A box I put on the market after you dared me to – after you bet me that it wouldn’t even get any lookers, much less buyers. And that sold for full price in two weeks, making it such that three of us now live in 500 square feet.” He gives her a cocky grin that he knows she both loves and hates. “You still owe me that dinner, too.”

She rolls her eyes again. “So we need to bring a puppy into that mix?” She ignores the little playful dig and gets back to her earlier point.

He sighs, walking over to her. “Sunshine, Dad has a litter ready in July, and he said this may be his last – though he has said that for years – if you want Bee to have a same-breed sibling, now is the time. He loves you so much that he offered pick of the litter. I didn’t even get that – he picked Bee for me and brought him here.” He gets to her and wraps her up in a hug. “He really wants you to have one.”

“Not fair. You know I’m a pushover for Dad.” After a pause, her voice muffled by his t-shirt, she begrudgingly agrees, “OK. But you’re taking her out when it snows.”

He laughs. “So, you want a girl?”

“Yes. Can’t let myself stay outnumbered.” She leans back and looks up at him. “And when is Snap moving?”

She refers to the friend of his who just got transferred to Seattle, whose house they want to buy. He shakes his head. “Not until October. We can be in with the few minor tweaks we want not long after. We’ll be in by Thanksgiving, Rey. We can survive six months of this.”

She bumps him a little. “I’m being a nudge. I know we’ll be fine here, happy even.” She leans back and looks at him. “I’m happier than I’ve ever been in my life, to be honest, tiny apartment or not.”

“Me too.” He smiles, still a little awed that she’s with him, that she wanted to move in together, that she gave him the time of day, all of it. He kisses her gently, but it turns to something heated in seconds. Glad that it’s a Saturday and that they don’t have any plans or commitments today, he scoops her up and carries her to the bed in the corner, determined to show her precisely how happy she makes him.

X X X X X X

Rey lets Bee off of his leash at their favorite dog park in Breckenridge, one they use a lot when they come up here for the weekend, often for Poe to ski and Rey to snowboard this past winter. He’s a very good skier, owing to the fact that his parents had him learning when he was three. She’s no slouch on a snowboard, though, and it’s a shared love that they truly enjoy.

They’re in Breckenridge to pick up their new puppy, Maggie, who is ready to go home. Kes promises them that she’s about ninety percent potty trained already. They have a stash of puppy pads and a baby gate for the apartment, though, so they can sequester her in the bathroom when they have to leave her at home. She can’t wait for them to move this fall, when Poe’s friend sells them the house.

Some co-workers warned her against buying a house together when not married, but Rey isn’t worried. She looks down at her left hand, smiling at the emerald-cut diamond ring there, a simple solitaire that will pair well with Poe’s mother’s wedding ring. He proposed last month, and it had taken her about a heartbeat and a half to whisper out a yes through the tears that started the moment she realized what he was doing. They’re going to get married when school gets out next June.

He’s on a coffee run now, as they left Colorado Springs early, and they’re both a little bleary-eyed. They thought it would be wise to tire Bee out a little before letting him loose with Maggie. He’s already met his soon-to-be little sister, but they haven’t been together enough for Poe and Rey to feel like he should be his full-energy self around her.

Bee runs up to her with his ball, and she takes it, flinging it across the park. He tears after it with his usual glee, and Rey laughs out loud. A moment later, a voice to her right makes her jump. “That’s a beautiful Toller. He’s a Toller, right?”

She turns, surprised that anyone recognizes the breed, and she sees a small woman standing there. She’s got light blonde hair up in two small buns, light brown eyes, and she’s probably close to Rey’s age. “He is.” Rey smiles at her. “Not many people recognize the breed.”

The woman nods, turning away for a moment to throw a ball for what she guesses is her own dog, a large chocolate lab. She turns back, and she says, “Yeah, my ex’s dad was a breeder here in town.”

Rey’s breath catches, but she tries to act normal. Her mind is racing though, and it seriously takes everything she has not to just attack the woman. She knows for a fact that Kes is the only Toller breeder here. She swallows and tries to modulate her voice. “Oh? Your ex?”

The smaller woman sighs. “Yes. Ex-fiancé. We broke up not long after we got engaged, but we’d been high school sweethearts. He’s definitely the one that got away.”

Rey again has to exercise restraint. This woman really hurt Poe, according to Kes and Maz and even Poe himself. “What happened?”

“We wanted different things. He was a combat pilot in the Air Force, and I just realized I didn’t want that life. Married a guy not long after I split with him, had two kids, got divorced a couple of years ago when I realized that marrying someone for stability doesn’t exactly equal love and sustainable romance.” The small woman shrugs. “My ex-husband has the kids this weekend. I keep thinking I’ll just try to find my ex-fiancé one day. He’s gorgeous. I need to try to get him back.”

“What if he moved on?” Rey is stunned, but she’s getting her equilibrium back.

She shoots Rey a conspiratorial look. “Well, I ran into his dad a year ago, overheard him tell someone that his son was a confirmed bachelor at this point. I figure he’s so lonely and still heartbroken over me that I might have a shot. It’s worth taking a chance – he was certainly energetic in the ways that matter, if you know what I mean.”

The woman’s leering grin makes Rey’s skin crawl. Instead of saying anything, she crosses her arms over her chest in a way that allows the woman to see her ring. The woman lets out a low whistle. “Nice rock. Both of my exes were too poor or cheap to get me something like that.”

“Well, my fiancé and I are pretty established in our careers at this point. I didn’t care about the ring, but he wanted to do this for me.” She looks over at the gate, and she sees that Poe is entering. He walks in, lattes in hand, and then he freezes, obviously realizing who she’s talking to. She gives him a little nod, and he relaxes, continuing towards them. She turns back towards to the woman, who clearly didn’t notice Poe. “Well, that, and our dogs. We’re adopting another one; we’re here to pick her up this weekend.”

The woman smiles. “Another Toller?”

“Yes.” She notices that Poe is in earshot and listening at this point. “We’re picking her up from my fiancé’s Dad this morning.” The woman’s eyes widen, and she stares at Rey, who goes on, “Kes is a great breeder, so responsible and so loving to the dogs. Perhaps you know him, Kes Dameron?”

Poe stops moving, a smirk on his face. Kay flushes bright red. In a small voice, she says, “Yes. I do. I’m sorry, I need to get my dog and go, I have an appointment.” She turns, and she sees Poe standing there. Rey almost feels bad – the woman looks like she’s about to throw up. “Poe.”

He gets a neutral-to-cold look on his face, and he hands Rey her latte as he replies, “Kay. I see you’ve met Rey, the love of my life and my fiancée. Sunshine, this is Kay Connix-Callahan, my ex.”

“It’s just Connix again. It’s nice to meet you, Rey.” She holds a hand out to Rey, who eyes it with distaste before giving it a cursory shake.

Rey looks at her for a moment, takes a sip of her latte and says, “You know, what you said was appalling, and not just because the man you were talking about just happens to be my fiancé. It was appalling because he’s a person, a human being with feelings. I’m not certain I could say the same for you. Now, if you’ll excuse me, we have a puppy to collect.”

She storms past the woman, who has a shocked expression on her face. Rey grabs Poe’s free hand with hers as she goes by, calling Bee and pulling Poe behind her. Over his shoulder, Poe calls, “Nice to see you, Kay. Don’t wait for my call. It’s never going to happen. Best wishes and all that.”

By the time they get to the car with Bee, Poe is downright gleeful looking, but Rey is still seething. He brushes her hair back from her eyes. “So, did she say she was going to try to hook up with me – pity lay or something like that?”

Rey’s anger ratchets down a notch. “Something like that. Worse, but yes, something like that. How did you know?”

He shrugs and leans in to kiss her. When he pulls back, he says, “Dad. Kay’s dad actually called him to warn him that his, and I quote, ‘idiot daughter is on the prowl,’ and to tell him to give me a heads up that I was on her radar. Suffice to say, Kay’s dad liked me and was pretty upset when Kay dumped me.”

Kissing her again, more soundly this time. When he pulls back, he bites down gently on her lower lip before releasing it and separating from her. “I have to say, though, you defending my honor? That was pretty hot.”

Rey laughs, all the tension and anger ebbing away. “Well, defending your honor and marking my territory.”

As they get in the car to head to his dad’s, he grins and says, “Well, it is a dog park, after all. Marking one’s territory feels pretty appropriate.”

“Don’t get any ideas about peeing on my leg or something to mark yours, Flyboy.”

He huffs out a laugh at that. “Wouldn’t dream of it, Sunshine. Because now I know what a badass you are – speaking of, I think Kay nearly peed herself when you called her out. Dad’s going to love this one – it’s epic.”

Rey wants to scold him, but she just settles down in her seat, sipping at her coffee. “It rather was, wasn’t it?”

They ride in silence for a moment, but then Poe softly says, “Thanks, Sunshine.”

She looks over at him, not needing to ask him why he’s thanking her. She covers his hand with hers, gripping it tight. “Anytime, Flyboy. Anytime.”

**Author's Note:**

> I promise, by the way, that I have no issues with Connix in the movies. She’s just a convenient female character. This doesn’t reflect anything about how I think of her character in canon!


End file.
